#Basta Branding: Can You Go Too Far?

When trying to make a social media name for yourself, attorneys should be concerned about going too far. There can certainly be unintentional consequences if a lawyer's social media engagement takes partisan stances and politicizes issues. Also, as we...

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Etymology of Great Legal Words: Hearsay

For the number of times we lawyers have written, copied and pasted, and calmly exclaimed the word hearsay, most lawyers probably haven't stopped to think about the origins of the term. If you haven't, then you may have just...

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Should Jurors Be Told When Defendants Advertise in Their Town?

TiVo, a champion steer in the local county fair, had no idea what was going on. He had been purchased for $10,000, then was donated right back. TiVo, the digital recording company, had done it for marketing purposes. Two...

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Murder and Other Reasons 'Family Law' Is a Euphemism

Antonio Mari was shot and killed by a client's estranged spouse. Sara Quirt Sann was shot and killed by a client's estranged spouse. Two murders, same story. Antonio and Sara were both family lawyers. It's a tragedy all the...

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So Many Clients, Two Ways to Bill Them

When it comes to billing in the modern law firm, practitioners have two choices. Use billing software or practice management software with billing tools. Sure there are a thousand different programs, but they basically fall into these two categories....

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#Basta Branding: What's Your Hashtag?

While we all might not be able to be like Mike (Avenatti, that is) and lean into the political times with his hashtag #basta, if you're trying to develop your firm's brand identity, having your own hashtag could really...

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Money-Making Apps for Lawyers on the Go

Of all the apps out there, don't you love the ones that make you money? We're not talking about coupons or discounts here. We're talking cash-in-your-pocket profits and returns. There are plenty, but here are some apps especially for...

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Got a Hobby Outside Your Law Practice? Make It Your Law Practice

Did you ever look at a glass of beer and imagine what it would be like to start a brewery? Many entrepreneurs have started that way -- not necessarily when they were drinking, but when they turned a pastime...

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How to Correct Mistakes Without Making More

Some lawyers do wrong and act as if they've done no wrong. And it's annoying to see manifestations of "fake-it-till-you-make-it" or "opposite world" where bad is good and good is bad. But it's really annoying when you try to...

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Are Law Firms Liable for Serving Booze to Intoxicated Employees?

Where does a law firm cross the line when it provides alcohol to its employees? In a case against the Gladstone Law Group, it wasn't when the firm escorted a paralegal out of the building for being drunk. And...

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The Perils of Copying and Pasting Without Attribution

Copy and paste. It's such a common practice, it's practically one word. Lawyers do it all the time, too. But you can't copy other people's words without attribution. It's not just about copyright and plagiarism; it's about embarrassment....

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3 Lessons From the Dentons Sexual Harassment Scandal

The way things went down at Dentons, #MeToo may soon be a term in Black's Law Dictionary. A business specialist has sued the law firm, alleging a supervisor sexually harassed her. The plaintiff says a managing director propositioned her...

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Why Signs on the Door Matter

If you advise businesses, or run your own brick and mortar practice, you know, the signage on the door, and even in the parking lot, matters. And not just legally, from the customer's perspective, if your door says "push"...

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Should Rural Lawyers Rethink Their Billing Strategies?

If you didn't know, they do things differently in Small Town, U.S.A. Not that every rural community has only one sheriff or three billboards. But you probably won't find a lawyer in places like Zzyxx, California. That could be...

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No Moral Turpitude for Lawyer's Misdemeanor DUIs

Raj Tanden got some good news and some bad news from the California State Bar Court. The good news was that the court's review panel found no moral turpitude for his misdemeanor DUI's. That was huge because moral turpitude can...

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Should You Ghostwrite for a Pro Se Litigant?

For a growing number of legal practitioners and courts, the answer to the title question is a resounding yes. What matters most is how you do it. After all, it would seem contrary to ordinary logic to discourage attorneys...

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